Perfect 9th by Bryson too (in his first AA appearance of the year I believe)

I think it is time to move Bryson up to the big club. The guy they got closing games now is proving himself worthy of being called a stiff.

22 saves in 24 opportunities is not exactly what I would call a stiff. However, his ERA in July is 6.75 so he needs to get his mojo back. Last night he got beat on a walk to Joe Mauer, who ended up with 9 hits this series, and two bloop hits off the handle of the bat that dropped in. More bad luck than bad pitching.

That being said, the Indians biggest strength this year has probably been their bullpen, and it might also be the strongest area of their farm system. Guys like Bryson, Hagadone, Stowell, Lee, Burns, and Judy have been lights out at various levels of the farm system. A couple of these guys will take Herrmann and Durbin's jobs next year, and the rest of the Mafia better not let their performances slip too much.

catfish wrote:I think it is time to move Bryson up to the big club. The guy they got closing games now is proving himself worthy of being called a stiff.

This wins the award for "most knee-jerk post of the week"

Hmmm over reacting??? Which tongue is in which cheek? Not to put words or tongues in either of your guys mouths but think catfish is implying that really though Bryson would be pounding on the ML door if he hadn't suffered a slow to heal non-pitching injury. And I agree, I wonder where Bryson is right now had he started the year healthy. Columbus no doubt, but when did (does) he get there???

catfish wrote:I think it is time to move Bryson up to the big club. The guy they got closing games now is proving himself worthy of being called a stiff.

This wins the award for "most knee-jerk post of the week"

Hmmm over reacting??? Which tongue is in which cheek? Not to put words or tongues in either of your guys mouths but think catfish is implying that really though Bryson would be pounding on the ML door if he hadn't suffered a slow to heal non-pitching injury. And I agree, I wonder where Bryson is right now had he started the year healthy. Columbus no doubt, but when did (does) he get there???

Like anything it comes down to spots and you cant have a pen full of specs in AAA, you need 4A arms for the long games or just to run out there in odd or long situations. AAA is loaded with specs Byrson is stuck by a numbers game, we have to consider trading some pen arms frankly we have so many its a determent to development of other arms

I got some tape of Chun Chen which is very interesting. Nothing to do with defense at all. Merely shows some differences in his hitting before and after his injury hiatus. Not sure what the injury was but it looks to me like he is still protecting against pain in lower spine when he swings. The good news is that he appears to be handling breaking balls and off speed much better even though his HR power might be decreased a bit. It is a small sample but his selectivity looks improved with more focused pitch recognition. Injuries seldom improve a player from what I have seen but the time off and rehab appears to have done just that. My hat is off to him and the poor Akron hitting coach who has had to put up with dreadful talent this year. I was wondering if you Aero watchers had noticed any of the same things recently. I still do not see a pull hitter but it looks to me like he is more advanced now and might be in Columbus by playoff time, injury recovery not withstanding. I would be interested in your thoughts as well Tony.

I'm not sure Chen would get the postseason callup, but it's possible. Hopefully Akron continues their winning ways and makes the playoffs themselves.

IIS,

What about Beau Mills!? Honestly, after last season, I thought he was done. The numbers he has put up in 60 games are right around his 2008 season at Kinston when he was Carolina League Player of the Year. I'd really like to see him get to Columbus soon and be the actual first baseman there instead of the platoon of McBride and Huffman. The 2012 Indians infield is now already in Cleveland on July 22, 2011 and the piece I'm not sold on yet is Matt LaPorta. It sure would be great if Beau Mills made himself an option for mid to late 2012 if LaPorta doesn't become the hitter we thought he would in the C.C. Sabathia trade.

osueddy wrote:I'm not sure Chen would get the postseason callup, but it's possible. Hopefully Akron continues their winning ways and makes the playoffs themselves.

IIS,

What about Beau Mills!? Honestly, after last season, I thought he was done. The numbers he has put up in 60 games are right around his 2008 season at Kinston when he was Carolina League Player of the Year. I'd really like to see him get to Columbus soon and be the actual first baseman there instead of the platoon of McBride and Huffman. The 2012 Indians infield is now already in Cleveland on July 22, 2011 and the piece I'm not sold on yet is Matt LaPorta. It sure would be great if Beau Mills made himself an option for mid to late 2012 if LaPorta doesn't become the hitter we thought he would in the C.C. Sabathia trade.

Hi eddy. Beau Mills is a "prospect" that I completely missed on in evaluating. He belongs with Carlos Rivera and John Drennen in the Inky "Hall of Shame". There is probably more but I admit those to myself. In watching Mills current hitting on tape, it looks to me that his pitch recognition has taken a big leap forward. He has made some "minor" swing changes but it is really difficult for me to wholeheartedly endorse the improvement in pitch recognition when he seems to have spent his whole career at Akron and is just now "getting it". I wonder if the Indians even know. At this point, I would like to see him go to Columbus just to get him out of there even though I see no current organizational replacement. I am more comfortable that you with the long term forecast for LaPorta than you seem to be. I am not sold at all on Nick Johnson and the rest of the guys are non-prospects IMO. Simply put, I would give him the chance but am not completely convinced that it will be successful. Just thinking aloud but it occurs to me, given the catching talent in Cleveland, it is possible Chen will go to 1B with his bat but I am not enamored with the Santana experiment there. Shit, I sound confused and rambling and I hate to be thought of as Hermie. Apologies.

osueddy wrote:I'm not sure Chen would get the postseason callup, but it's possible. Hopefully Akron continues their winning ways and makes the playoffs themselves.

IIS,

What about Beau Mills!? Honestly, after last season, I thought he was done. The numbers he has put up in 60 games are right around his 2008 season at Kinston when he was Carolina League Player of the Year. I'd really like to see him get to Columbus soon and be the actual first baseman there instead of the platoon of McBride and Huffman. The 2012 Indians infield is now already in Cleveland on July 22, 2011 and the piece I'm not sold on yet is Matt LaPorta. It sure would be great if Beau Mills made himself an option for mid to late 2012 if LaPorta doesn't become the hitter we thought he would in the C.C. Sabathia trade.

Still not sold on Mills. Obviously LaPorta hasn't run away with the 1B job, but Mills is still a year or more away IMO and would probably be a better fit at DH anyways. He's up for protection again this winter and not sold the Indians will roster him still. Guess we'll see how he does in C-Bus though.

Well, if you needed any more evidence that McBride is worthless to the F.O, here you are. Would not be surprised to see him ride out the rest of the year in Akron and then become a MiLFA at the end of the year. Long overdue for Mills though. Would like to see the Indians promote one of Kinston's 1B to make room for an Aguilar promotion. Since Lake County and Akron are out of it, I'd like to see Aguilar making a difference for a 1st place Kinston team.

Edible14 wrote:Well, if you needed any more evidence that McBride is worthless to the F.O, here you are. Would not be surprised to see him ride out the rest of the year in Akron and then become a MiLFA at the end of the year. Long overdue for Mills though. Would like to see the Indians promote one of Kinston's 1B to make room for an Aguilar promotion. Since Lake County and Akron are out of it, I'd like to see Aguilar making a difference for a 1st place Kinston team.

I wouldn't call the Aeros out of it yet. The whole division is so far in arrears of the Senators that the Aeros still have a good chance at the West wild card.

White and Pom both pitching in Akron tonight???? Sounds like a good reason for an impromtu IPI gathering.....Might be one of the last chances to get a look at Chen too. If I still lived in Cleveland I'd be at this one for sure!!!

Matt Packer with his 6th good starting effort in a row. Tough to figure him out as a prospect, sometimes it seems like he ends up being a veteran minor league roster filler, then he puts together a long streak that makes you think he might make a big league staff someday.

I still have significant reservations, but he may be one of those guys who is persistent, and figures out how to be successful. Certainly a guy to keep an eye on for the remainder of the season.

Espino back in Akron where he is throwing a nice game so far. Chen is catching and hit another HR but the big news, IMO, is Weglarz is back at DH and has a couple of hits. Hard to believe they have enough SP after Pom and Gardner gone but Espino always looks good at AA. McFarland, Adams and Packer seem to be picking it up at the right time. Making the playoffs might be a bit of stretch with Akron's lineup this late but they still seem to be in it.

artgold wrote:Espino might look good in Columbus too, if they'd leave him in the rotation for a few weeks.

Quite possible Art but he has a tough road to get there with Kluber (a RP IMO) and 4 quality starters if you include the injured Barnes blocking the way. Even if Kluber goes to the pen next year, Rondon seems a more likely replacement to me than anyone in Akron. But he should have a chance to make an impression for the last month in Akron as a starter.

artgold wrote:If Espino was in Columbus, I'd have the current rotation (depending on call ups and injuries, of course) be McAllister, Barnes, Huff, Gomez and Espino.

I don't view Klubler nor Martinez as potential major league starters.

Yep, pretty much agree with your sentiments but I don't think Espino is right now either. I like his fast ball when he is locating it down in the zone but he is going to have a tough time trying to get his 4 seam past ML hitters up in the zone. I don't really think his secondary pitches are ML quality at this time but that is what AAA is for.

Speaking of Akron, I have been smitten with McFarland's development of late. He has become my #2 LH starter behind Barnes. Do you have a decent comp on McFarland? I used to think of him as Laffey with more projection but now he seems to be a bit more but I cannot think of a LH starter I like as a comp.

Haven't done a comp for McFarland, I wasn't too convinced he'd ever reach the majors. Looking at his performance this season, and considering past performances, he now looks like a marginal major league starting pitcher, so I'll see what my "hits" give me when this season is over.

He has some interesting slopes in his year to year performances, and within year progressions. However, looking at the overall profile he has a few red flags. His moderate strikeout rate not improving is a major concern, and his "away" game stats this year are fairly bad.

His biggest plus is his GB/FB ratio, but everything else seems fairly ordinary. However, his K rate has ticked up a little the past month, except for an odd game against Harrisburg on 7/16. But to be fair the Aeros jumped out to a big fast lead in that game, so he may have been daring them to hit the ball.

artgold wrote:Espino might look good in Columbus too, if they'd leave him in the rotation for a few weeks.

Quite possible Art but he has a tough road to get there with Kluber (a RP IMO) and 4 quality starters if you include the injured Barnes blocking the way. Even if Kluber goes to the pen next year, Rondon seems a more likely replacement to me than anyone in Akron. But he should have a chance to make an impression for the last month in Akron as a starter.

I doubt it, even though I'd love to see it. I wonder what the rules are on 4th-option years for injured guys. Do they have to be out a whole season for it? If so, no chance Rondon ends up pitching for any affiliate.

artgold wrote:Matt Packer with his 6th good starting effort in a row. Tough to figure him out as a prospect, sometimes it seems like he ends up being a veteran minor league roster filler, then he puts together a long streak that makes you think he might make a big league staff someday.

I still have significant reservations, but he may be one of those guys who is persistent, and figures out how to be successful. Certainly a guy to keep an eye on for the remainder of the season.

Chun Chen left Saturday night's game after taking a ball off his right forearm behind the plate (at least I believe that's what happened, I didn't actually see the play). He remained in the game and then was removed after he had already come out to warm up the pitcher at the start of the next inning. I see he didn't play yesterday, so I'm just guessing that he's day-to-day, but might be something worth keeping an eye on.